Events for a safe holiday
Six Flags Mountain Holiday Drive-Thru
With their Valencia location being converted into a drive-thru, Six Flags’ main attraction is located inside the park itself. The event starts at 6 p.m. and, for $20 to $25 per person, depending on the night, you’re allowed to drive through the park and look at the scenery. This will include fake snow, appearances from Santa and Mrs. Claus, a 30-foot-tall ornament, light shows and a car show from West Coast Customs. The park has a two-person minimum for each car, but that shouldn’t be a problem so long as you’re not planning to visit the park alone. It continues through Jan. 3.
Street Food Cinema
Watching a drive-in movie was popular in the 1950s and ‘60s. Street Food Cinema is bringing it back with a 2020 twist. Located in King Gillette Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains, cars can park one space apart from each other and customers have the option to buy food and beverages from local food trucks. Entry price is $20 per car, with an additional $8 fee per person. In order to maintain social-distancing, guests must wear masks unless inside their vehicle and are advised to stay inside unless using the restroom or buying snacks. The movies being shown include “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” on December 18, “Frozen” the very next day, “A Christmas Story” on December 20 and “Home Alone” on December 21.
Dodgers Holiday Festival
Following the Dodgers’ first World Series win in decades, this light-up drive-thru will serve as a festive consolation for those who never got their chance to properly celebrate the monumental victory. Until Dec. 24, you and your family can go on a drive through Lot 10 at Chavez Ravine and see light shows, LED video displays, fake snow and all sorts of decor to commemorate the Dodgers. Like all the other drive-thru events on this list, the drill is that tickets must be purchased in advance and that you’ll have to remain in your vehicle. Timed tickets start at $55 and can reach up to $115 on weekends and closer to Christmas. A downside to this experience is that queue times could be over 45 minutes, but there is no limit to how many people you have per car.
Elf on a Shelf's Magical Holiday Journey
With its all-too-knowing eyes, the Elf on the Shelf toy has become associated with the holidays. And now, like all holiday traditions this year, the elf is headed to the drive-thru. Bringing narration and music via a smartphone app, the quest takes you through an hour-long drive through Pomona to fix Santa’s sleigh. It’s emphasis on live actors adds a special quality to the drive, with committed elves juggling pins, balancing on tightropes or measuring your car’s Christmas spirit. The route follows the narrow roads of Fairplex with its mostly flat pavement. Along the sides include colorful lights, snowy decoration and a village filled with elves. Attendees below the age of three get in for free. It’s $29.95 for 13 and older and $24.95 for those between 3 and 12, with a maximum of eight in a car. The attraction continues to Jan. 3.
